] The good news: International intelligence expert George ] Friedman's "America's Secret War," says the United States ] is winning the war against al-Qaida around the world. ] ] Then what's bad news, at least for the administration of ] President Bush? ] ] "The decision to invade Iraq was not a good one and very ] few in the administration thought it was. It was the best ] of a bad lot," Friedman writes. ] ] In short, Friedman contends, Bush didn't really go to war ] because he was worried about Iraqi weapons of mass ] destruction or links to terrorists. But those were ] concerns he could use to sell the war to the American ] people, and now he may pay the ultimate political price ] for that. ] ] Who is Friedman and why should we believe him? His ] company, Stratfor (short for Strategic Forecasting), a ] private worldwide intelligence company, has been given ] credit by Barron's magazine for being "miles ahead of CNN ] and all the other media" for its online reporting. The ] American Spectator has written that "Stratfor is changing ] the way we think about news," while the Wall Street ] Journal said the "predictions have made George Friedman a ] hot property these days." . . . ] If you prefer books coming from a strong political bias (for or ] against the war, for or against Bush, etc.), "America's Secret ] War" is not for you. But if you wonder how and why things have ] gone the way they have since 9/11, this is a eye-opener. [adds to book list] Psst ... U.S. winning terror war (Review: 'America's Secret War') |